The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article was written by a student writer from Her Campus at Hofstra.
If you had told me in my freshman year that I would move out in my early twenties and spend the summer in New York, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.
But alas, here I am, spending the summer in my college town, in the middle of my career, and living in a house with my sorority sisters (and a hamster named Staci).
Although my seven roommates already made me feel like I had a home, there was nothing more exciting than having a blank slate—a new bedroom to decorate to make the transition more comfortable—and, dare I say, fun.
In 2023, after I completed my freshman year, I shared with incoming Hofstra freshmen how to make your Hofstra suite feel like home. Today, I’m sharing how I transformed an empty bedroom in my college house into the bedroom of my dreams.
- Take advantage of your dorm decor
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Room decorating can get expensive. My main advice is to utilize the decor you already have and display it differently. Living in a house instead of a dorm comes with additional costs, whether it’s larger expenses like buying a new mattress, bed frame or air conditioner or smaller expenses like groceries. Building on what you already have can help you stay on budget!
For me, that looked like using the same picture frames I had in my dorm and replacing the prints with Pinterest pictures I printed at Walmart, displaying the decorations I had on my desk in my dorm on shelves, and using the same throw pillows from my dorm.
- MY FAVORITE COLOR IS RED, CAN YOU TELL?
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Like any teenage girl, the first thing I did was use Pinterest. I typed “red-inspired bedroom” and “red decor” into the search box to find inspiration on how to incorporate my favorite color. However, the results weren’t exactly what I was looking for. I used phrases like “red aesthetic” to find inspiration for my design.
I added: LED lights, printed posters at CVS with prints I found on Pinterest, red accents, plaid accents, and little pops of red color with red ribbon to hold my curtains or digital camera.
- Storage is a girl’s best friend!
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I thought I wouldn’t have any storage issues when moving from a dorm to a house, but I guess I should have been more thankful for the dorm bunk beds! To maximize storage in my bedroom, I purchased a 4-cube desk and an under-bed clothes rack. I use it to store hair products, makeup, hoodies, and other essentials I can’t live without!
As my summer in this house comes to an end, I can’t wait for my time here to be filled with memories, laughter, and love. Moving out can be daunting, but if you find a way to make your new home YOU, you’ll have a much easier transition.
